In many row crop cultivators, several tines are used to till the soil between the rows of crops for loosening the soil and killing weeds between the rows.
During the early cultivating season when the row crops are small, normally all of the tines are down and in working position to loosen the soil, kill the weeds and to some extent, move the soil and throw it out of the area between the rows and toward the plants themselves. In the middle of the season as the plants get larger, it is sometimes necessary, or at least desirable, to cultivate with just the centermost tine and to remove the other tines. One of the problems with such an arrangement is that the crops vary from field to field and to some extent even within a specific field, so that in certain places it may be desirable to have more of the outside tines present and in working position. In other fields or in other parts of a field, it may be desirable to remove such tines. Of course when the tines are removed, it is time consuming to put them back on. During the middle of the season, the operator usually does not want to throw too much dirt against the plant row, and that is one reason why the outer tines of the cultivator need to be removed during this cultivating process in the middle of the growing season.
Later on in the season, when the crops are much larger, it is more often desirable to remove the outer tines for each row. When this is done, it is very easy to misplace the tines and not have them accessible when they are needed.
Consequently, there is a need for an apparatus to solve the aforementioned problems with the prior art.